MARGAO: With their fourth consecutive win, Antruz Strikers advanced into the semi-finals of Alcon GSB Unity Cup T20 cricket tournament organised by the Goa GSB Sports and Charitable Trust in association with Goa Saraswat Samaj, at MCC ground, here, on Sunday.
Antruz Strikers, who are top of Group B, have eight points from four games. After three straight wins, the Rangers suffered a loss on Sunday. Desserts N More Avengers beat them by 20 runs.
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In the morning session, Antruz Strikers bundled Antruz Rising Stars for paltry 122 runs in 19 overs. They then chased down the target in just 13.1 overs. Kapil Sinai Borkar, who took four wickets, was adjudged man of the match. In the second match, Desserts N More Avengers scored 163/7 in 20 overs. They then snapped rangers’ winning streak, holding them to 143 for 9. Siddhesh Desai was the winner of the match.
In Group A, Madgaon Royals (+2.842), Desserts N More Avengers (+0.713) and Rangers (+0.381) are first, second and third respectively. The trio has six points each. The challenge of Mapusa Dream Crushers, who are in fourth place with four points, is also far from over.
Antruz Strikers have secured a place in the semi-finals from Group B. Sinq Rangers are leading the race to be the other team to move through this group. Canacona Warriors and CQS Scoring Willows (4 points each) also have a chance to advance to the semifinals. All the teams in the tournament have one more group match left.
Brief scores: Antruz Rising Stars 122 all out in 19 overs (Pratosh Pilgaonkar 38, Devkinandan Prabhu 27, Bhushan Bambolkar 15, Kapil Sinai Borkar 17-4, Venkat Biche 17-2, Rudresh Kamat, Prashil Kamat, Saish Prabhu Desai 1 wicket each) lost to Antruz Strikers: 123 for 3 in 13.1 overs (Vivek Keni 32 not out, Gaurish Shenvi Lotlikar 23, Pranav Biche 20 not out, Tanay Kelekar, Anish Khandeparkar, Devkinandan Prabhu 1 wicket each).
Desserts N More Avengers 163 for 7 in 20 overs (Sachin Sardesai 35, Kapil Angle 28, Sahish Mahambre 19, Yash Prabhugaonkar 20-4, Amod Borkar 28-1) Won Versus Rangers: 143 for 9 in 20 overs (Amod Borkar 38, Yash Prabhugaonkar 32 not out, Laxmikant Kurade 17, Anish Kakode 17-2, Siddhesh Bodke 21-2, Siddharth Ghanekar, Manish Kakode, Siddhesh Desai and Kapil Angle 1 wicket each).
Canacona Warriors and Madgaon Super Strikers registered wins on Saturday.
Canacona defeated Knight Archers by 13 runs. After scoring 173 for 8 in 20 overs, Canacona Warriors restricted Knight Archers to 160 for 8. Madgaon Super Strikers defeated Mathgram Warriors by 4 wickets. Chasing a target of 157, Margao Super Strikers registered their first win of the tournament with the loss of six wickets in 17 overs.
With this win, Canacona Warriors have kept alive their hopes of making it to the semi-finals from Group B. Sinq Rangers and Antruz Strikers are the top two teams with six points each. The Canacona Warriors have four points in their Kitty.
Canacona Warriors last group match is against CQS Scoring Willows on April 14. Knight Archers (2) also have one game to go but are out of contention for the semi-finals. Two teams from each of the two groups will qualify for the semi-finals. Madgaon Super Strikers and Mathgram Warriors were already out of the semi-final race in Group A. So this match didn’t matter much in terms of the semi-finals.
